School of Nursing Midwifery and Indigenous Health, Charles Sturt University Building 2, Boorooma Street, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
Women Birth. 2013 Mar;26(1):76-81. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2012.05.003. Epub 2012 Jun 21.
Pregnant women find themselves subject to comments and questions from people in public areas. Normally, becoming 'public property' is considered friendly and is relatively easy for pregnant women to deal with. However, following diagnosis of a foetal anomaly, the experience of being public property can exacerbate the emotional turmoil experienced by couples. Original research question: What is the experience of couples who continue pregnancy following the diagnosis of a foetal anomaly?
The study used an interpretive design informed by Merleau-Ponty and this paper reports on a subset of findings. Thirty-one interviews with pregnant women and their partners were undertaken following the diagnosis of a serious or lethal foetal anomaly. Women were between 25 and 38 weeks gestation at the time of their first interview. The non-directive interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim and the transcripts were thematically analysed.
A prominent theme that emerged during data analysis was that pregnancy is embodied therefore physically evident and 'public'. Women found it difficult to deal with being public property when the foetus had a serious or lethal anomaly. Some women avoided social situations; others did not disclose the foetal condition but gave minimal or avoidant answers to minimise distress to themselves and others. The male participants were not visibly pregnant and they could continue life in public without being subject to the public's gaze, but they were very aware and concerned about its impact on their partner.
The public tend to assume that pregnancy is normal and will produce a healthy baby. This becomes problematic for women who have a foetus with an anomaly. Women use strategies to help them cope with becoming public property during pregnancy. Midwives can play an important role in reducing the negative consequences of a woman becoming public property following the diagnosis of a foetal anomaly.
孕妇会在公共场所受到他人的评论和询问。通常情况下，成为“公众人物”被视为友好的行为，孕妇也相对容易应对。然而，在被诊断出胎儿畸形后，这种成为公众人物的经历可能会加剧夫妇的情绪困扰。原始研究问题：在被诊断出胎儿畸形后继续妊娠的夫妇有何体验？
本研究采用了受梅洛-庞蒂影响的解释性设计，本文报告了其中一个子集的研究结果。在被诊断出严重或致命的胎儿畸形后，对 31 名孕妇及其伴侣进行了非指导性访谈。女性在第一次访谈时处于 25 周到 38 周妊娠。这些访谈被录音、逐字转录，并进行主题分析。
在数据分析过程中出现的一个突出主题是，怀孕是身体上的存在，因此是显而易见的“公众人物”。当胎儿有严重或致命异常时，女性发现自己很难应对成为公众人物。一些女性避免社交场合；另一些则不透露胎儿状况，但只给出最少或回避性的答案，以减少自己和他人的痛苦。男性参与者没有明显的怀孕迹象，他们可以继续在公共场合生活而不受公众关注，但他们非常清楚并关注这种关注对伴侣的影响。
公众往往认为怀孕是正常的，并且会生出健康的婴儿。这对于那些胎儿有异常的女性来说就成了问题。女性会使用一些策略来帮助她们在怀孕期间应对成为公众人物的情况。助产士可以在减轻女性在被诊断出胎儿畸形后成为公众人物的负面影响方面发挥重要作用。
